confirmed a security vulnerability in Internet Explorer whereby an attacker could break into a system. Version 10 and 11 of the web browser are in the safe, but all other builds of Internet Explorer are affected. The company also confirmed that some limited attacks that exploit this flaw have been recorded, along with the promise of a fix in the coming weeks, say on May 13, the next Patch Tuesday. However, the United States Homeland Security department have posted a notification this morning, warning everyone of this threat and recommending users to apply the workarounds Microsoft posted. Additionally, users are also advised to switch to a different browser.
“US-CERT is aware of active exploitation of a use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer. This vulnerability affects IE versions 6 through 11 and could allow unauthorized remote code execution. US-CERT recommends that users and administrators review Microsoft Security Advisory 2963983 for mitigation actions and workarounds. Those who cannot follow Microsoft’s recommendations, such as Windows XP users, may consider employing an alternate browser.”Alternate browser in this case being either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox — both of which are currently supported on Windows XP. At least for the foreseeable future.]]>
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Not using IE won’t solve all their problems, but no one should be running a version of a browser from 10+ years ago. Most malware gets on a computer because people don’t know what they’re doing. I work in IT for a college and a library. I’ve seen people have every browser on the computer jacked up. It might have some people from some IE exploits. But self-inflicted woulds are going to happen no matter what browser you use.
You’re correct. Hackers are so far ahead of the game as is, using a 10 year old browser is pretty much asking for it. However, there’s no doubt IE in any version is still the most susceptible.
If you’re choosing to run XP still, which you shouldn’t be, then definitely don’t use IE. Should be common sense, but most people with XP probably don’t know as much about browsers and the internet as people with new OS. Chrome/Firefox are the choices though.